HYPER-TOD IN MAKKAH

TOD is a term popular in urban planning. In discussions of densities in city and suburb, Transit-Oriented Development is a new take on the old notion that density goes hand in hand with access transport infrastructure. Higher density should be at transit stations. Most US growth is better described as Interstate -oriented.

One good example of American TOD is the Ashmont station of Boston’s Red Line. Instead of one-story retail with parking, TOD principles led to a 15-story apartment tower right next to “T” station. It works well. A modest success of a Bostonian scale. It would be bigger in New Work or Chicago. In Texas, TOD is more likely to mean 4-story apartments each with “only” one parking space.

Picture of a Model of a Vision for Human Intensity near the Kaaba.

Most American neighborhood groups fret about density, mostly because of the increased traffic it will bring. Suburban Americans spend much of their lives driving, sitting in traffic and worrying about where to park. To many, TOD is but a ruse to soothe those worried about more traffic that higher density.

Makkah Embraces Intensity

Not so in one of the Holy cities of the Hejaz, the western part of Saudi Arabia along the Red Sea across from Egypt. Here, density is embraced in full pedestrian mode. Few pilgrims to Makkah arrive by car. Officials already have a monorail to serve Hajj guests, and more lines are planned. Foreseeing growth and higher levels of pilgrimage in coming years, high-density development is planned for the heart of the jewel of the Red Sea.

The state of the art of urban transport modality is the focus of Terrapinn’s conference March 17-18 in Dubai. Where do podcars fit into the menu of planners -- not just in Makkah but throughout the Middle World and Africa and beyond? Driverless taxis, vans and buses? Driverless metros? PRT?  Will these be discussed at Mideast Rail 2015?

Peter Muller of PRT Consulting has been invited to speak at a Saudi university. Taxi 2000 participated in detailed application studies in Abu Dhabi. What else is occurring in the ministries of Kuwait, Oman and the UAE?

If  transit programs are implemented with the intensity of TOD plans in the heart of Makkah, visions of more sustainable urban live begin to appear.